


[Inuyasha fanfiction] Witches and Yōkai

by SaraLi



Series: Witches and Yōkai [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Amazing, Awesome, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Excellent, F/F, F/M, Multi, Post-InuYasha, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23103835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraLi/pseuds/SaraLi
Summary: Horii was crazy in love with Sesshoumaru, a half-Yokai,  yet she still wanted to be a witchHorii hesitated between continuing to be a witch and marrying a half-Yokai.However, it seemed that there was no choice?Because the half-yokai said, if she didn't marry him, she would be resurrected.What twisted love!
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome & Kirara, Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, InuYasha/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Original Character(s), Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Other(s)
Series: Witches and Yōkai [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660603
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am a huge fan of Inuyasha and this Fanfiction originates from an Asian writer. It is one of the best Inuyasha Fanfiction novels in Asia. So I translated it to English. I don't own this and I am doing it just for fun. Not for Money. I don't own Inuyasha. I will update the novel on every Wednesday and Friday. Please stay tuned if interested and hope you enjoy it!

The setting sun was slanting to the west, and it was the best haunting time for Yōkai.

  
Horii was on her way to the shrine. She wore the common white robes and red pants, the traditional witches’ clothing style. A well-crafted ritual fan was held in her hand. There was a small talisman bag tied at her waist. She was a young witch with a straight back and slender profile. With her leisurely steps, the wide sleeves danced slowly.

Along the way, the villagers, who were working on both sides of the road, suspended their works and greeted Horii.

  
"Lord Horii."

"Have you gone to see Eikoagain?"

  
"Thank you, Lord Horii, for asking me to thank you!"

  
"Lord Horii …"

  
The villagers expressed their enthusiasm one after another. Horii looked at them, smiled and nodded before continuing to walk towards the shrine.

  
…  
The shrine was built on a mountain. The mountain was so small that can be viewed as a little hill. A long grey-white stone staircase paved from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain and the staircase ended at the entrance of the shrine.

Halfway up the stairs, Horii suddenly raised her head and saw Mao standing a few steps away from her against the light.

  
"You spent too much time!" Mao, who also dressed in a red and white witch cloth, raised her chin slightly. A trace of impatience appeared on her beautiful face. "A simple exorcism, how could you spent half a day?"

  
Horii looked at her with curved eyebrows and smiled. Being honest was hard for Mao, she always insisted on pretending an arrogant attitude even though she was worried about Horii.

If Horii hadn’t seen through her fake self-esteem nature, it wasn't certain that they would have become friends.

  
"Don't laugh!" Mao always felt that every time when Horii smiled at her, she would appear gentle and helpless, as if she was accommodating a child with a bad temper, which made Mao very frustrated.

Horii walked to Mao and reached out to touch her head. Horii was half a head shorter than Mao, but doing this was extremely smooth for her. She did this just like how she usually caressed the black cat in the shrine.

  
"Damn it! Don't treat me like a child to comfort me!" Mao complained discontentedly and patted the restless hand, "You haven't answered why you have been gone for so long!"

  
Horii still smiled and remained silent.

  
"What are you laughing at? Say something! You can already speak, why are you pretending to be mute?"

  
Horii lowered her eyes slightly. She didn't pretend to be mute on purpose. Because she had been hoarse for so long, and her voice hadn't fully recovered, so it was difficult to utter a complete sentence now.

  
However, knowing that if she continued to remain silent, Mao would explode. Horii tactfully spread out Mao’s palm and slowly wrote, " Eiko fell asleep and pulled me tightly. So I stayed at Aunt Fujiwara's house for a while longer."

  
If Eiko hadn't grabbed her hand and she also wouldn't want to wake up Eiko, who had been torn by the Yōkai for days. She would come back early.

  
Mao looked at her explanation and snorted, "Little girl is trouble."

  
Horii thought that you are only thirteen or fourteen years old, and no different from Eiko, who is six years old. However, she would not tell Mao if that was the case, lest she becomes arrogant again, she would have to think of a way to comfort her.

  
So she continued, "Where's Lord Reiko?"

  
Reiko was the witch who rescued her from the hands of the Yōkai and took her back to the village. She was also the teacher of Mao and herself, responsible for teaching them how to become a qualified witch. Most likely, she had also instructed Mao to appear here.

  
"Lord Reiko is setting up a barrier … I don't know why, but the spiritual power of the barrier has been drained very quickly recently. This is already the second time this month that it has been repaired."

  
Mao frowned as she spoke, clearly feeling that something was amiss. One must know that Reiko was a witch with extremely powerful spiritual power. The barrier she had set up could last at least half a year, but recently, the spirit formation had become unstable. If Reiko hadn't been repairing it, there would have been a Yōkai invading the village long ago.

  
"Still can't figure out the reason?" Horii wrote again.

  
"In the beginning, we suspect that it was a Yōkai, but Lord Reiko said that she can't sense the Yōkai energy. Furthermore, the barrier is unstable because of the loss of spiritual energy. There is no sign of any damage."

  
Mao bitted her lips as she spoke. This was her usual thought-provoking gesture, '"You should know that under normal circumstances, Spiritual Energy will automatically lose. But it seems like someone has accelerated the speed of the loss of Spiritual Energy …Reiko said that this speed might be even faster in the future. She needs to set up another barrier within the original one, otherwise, there will probably be more Yōkai which invade village just like the one attacked Eiko."

  
Hearing Mao's words, Horii also frowned. So the barrier was already weak enough to allow Yōkai to take advantage of this opportunity to enter? She thought that the Yōkai on Eiko was provoked by her when she sneaked out of the village, but she didn't expect that it was the Yōkai that entered the village. The Yōkai had fought with her before, and its power was very weak. However, it was very difficult to discover that it was attached to people, and it would not be easy to peel them off.

  
"Don't worry, Lord Reiko will definitely fix it!" Mao was the first to regain her senses. She patted Horii’s shoulder and comforted her. Her tone was filled with trust in Reiko. "Let's go." Horii nodded and quickly followed Mao back to the shrine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a huge fan of Inuyasha and this Fanfiction originates from an Asian writer. It is one of the best Inuyasha Fanfiction novels in Asia. So I translated it to English. I don't own this and I am doing it just for fun. Not for Money. I don't own Inuyasha. I will update the novel on every Wednesday and Friday. Please stay tuned if interested and hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

Witch Reiko was a kind and beautiful woman. Anyone who saw her would feel this way.

She was dressed in white cloth and red pants, her knee-length black hair gently draped over her back. A pair of gentle and bright eyes smiled as if they were filled with starlight. People are willing to share everything with her when they were watched by her beautiful eyes.

At this moment, she was staring at Horii with such a pair of eyes. The gaze was gentle and calm.

Reiko wasn't in a hurry to speak, so Horii wasn't in a hurry either. The things that made Reiko feel awkward were definitely not trivial matters. She never liked to be troubled.

"Horii." Reiko said apologetically, "I need your help. I wonder if you're willing."

"It's Horii 's honour to be able to help Lord Reiko." Horii wrote on the paper. She respected the witch who had saved her life and worked hard to heal her. If she could, she would not refuse.

"Speaking of this thing, it was my fault." Reiko smiled. "The witch of the neighbouring village passed away not long ago, but the spiritual power of the successor was too weak to protect the villagers. Recently, there were Yōkai attacking their village, so they had no choice but to ask me for help. I agreed, but …"

"It's impossible for you to leave the village. If you leave, no one will be able to maintain the barrier. At that time, the village will be attacked by a large number of Yōkai" Horii immediately guessed the reason for Reiko's hesitation.

"Yes, I have already planned to let Mao go. Her ability is sufficient for this matter. However, Mao is not as stable as you. I really can't be at ease with letting her go alone, so …" Reiko hesitated. She also felt that such an arrangement was not reasonable. After all, Horii had only been a witch for less than a year, and it was difficult for her to protect herself in the face of danger. It was really difficult for her to take care of others at the same time.

"I will accompany Mao. Please rest assured." Horii agreed without any hesitation.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Reiko looked at the answer written on the paper and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've flipped through the ancient books and made up a new medicine. You can try again when you get back."

Reiko had always felt guilty about not being able to recover Horii 's voice.

Horii touched the faint scar on her neck and nodded with a smile.

Although it was difficult for her to utter a single word in its entirety, it was much better than utterly being dumb. At least she could see the hope of recovery.

…

Before leaving, Reiko gave Horii a stack of talismans made by her. Horii carefully kept the talismans in a small bag at her waist.

She had only just become a witch for a short time. So far, she had only learned how to use talismans, let alone her terrible archery skills. Her accuracy was so bad that her friend also might be assaulted by her arrow. Therefore, she did not envy Mao at all for having obtained the Demon Breaking Arrows that had exerted special power.

Although it was a neighbouring village, the Maple Village wasn't close at all. It took more than half a day to arrive there.

"So far." Mao 's face showed exhaustion. , "How long will it take to get there?"

"We should be arriving soon." Horii held her hand and slowly wrote in the palm. In fact, she was exhausted as well. But thanks for her special physique, the burning sun did not affect her so much. So she did not feel as irritated as Mao.

"I don't know why I always have a bad premonition. I hope it's just my illusion … Ah, is it that village?" Mao suddenly pointed. Horii looked in the direction she was pointing at and saw a village that seemed to be enveloped in white mist. It only vaguely revealed a rough outline.

Looks like there's something wrong. Horii thought.

…

It wasn't until the two of them reached the village that the things in the village became clear.

Mao stood at the entrance of the village and straightened her messy witch costume. Then, she tied up her long hair with a white rope and put on a noble posture that was different from usual. After this preparation, then she walked in.

"As a witch, you need have to look like a witch." Every time Horii was surprised by such an evident contrast, Mao always explained like this. Unfortunately, Horii had yet to learn the ability to change her role as she pleased.

"Lady Witch." The old village chief, who had been waiting for a long time, came forward and said, "Please help us …" His voice suddenly stopped when he saw Mao 's face. Obviously, he hadn't expected the witch was not Reiko but another young one.

Mao had always hated people who doubted her ability because she was young. She raised chin and snorted, "I was entrusted by Lord Reiko to eliminate Yōkai. Do you have any dissatisfaction?"

Even if he was really dissatisfied, he wouldn't speak it out, not to mention that it was still a time for him to ask for help. After all, no matter how young a witch was, she was still a witch, wasn't she?

The old village chief has been a slick man all his life. He knew much how to please someone. Knowing that Mao was unhappy, he immediately smiled and said, "Lady Witch is kind-hearted. We are grateful for receiving your help. How can we be dissatisfied?"

"There's no need for you to flatter me. Tell me about the current situation." Mao interrupted him.

When it came to the condition, the old village chief's expression immediately became serious. "Ever since the Yōkai attacked our village, many villagers have been unconscious for some reasons. When they woke up, they seemed to have lost their rationality and attacked their relatives. It looks like they were possessed by some evil things …" he said.

"Where are the villagers with problems now?" Mao asked after listening to his narrative.

"They are locked up in a shrine in the village."

"Let's go and take a look at their situation before we make any plans." After pondering for a while, Mao said, "Horii, what do you think?" She turned to look at Horii, who nodded at her.

"Village Chief, please lead the way."

The old village chief smiled and made a gesture. He took the lead in walking towards the shrine in the middle of the village.

"Horii?"

After walking for a while, Mao found that Horii hadn't caught up. She turned around and saw that Horii was still standing there in a daze. Immediately, she shouted angrily, " Horii!"

This time, even the Village Chief turned his head and looked over.

Strange, could it be that I was mistaken? Was that black shadow just an illusion? Horii muttered in her heart.

She stared at the village chief's face suspiciously. Seeing that there was nothing, she could only silently withdraw her gaze and quicken her pace to the side of Mao.

"What's wrong with you?" Mao nudged Horii with her elbow.

Shaking her head silently, Horii held her hand and slowly and solemnly wrote two words in her palm: Be careful.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mao didn't ask what to be careful about. Since she and Horii had known each other, the tacit understanding between the two of them was enough to convince her that Horii would never harm her. Moreover, as she got closer and closer to the shrine, she felt somewhat anxious.

Mao griped tightly her hands and caressed the lines on bow Only then did this, she felt a little more at ease.

"Here we are."

While she was still wandering around, the village chief stopped and pointed at the shrine a hundred steps away. "Those people are inside the shrine," he said. The shrine had a barrier that could trap them. "If you go any further, you will enter the barrier filed … Mistress Witch lady, you must be careful when you enter. None of the monks and witches who came to eliminate the Yōkai was able to come out alive. I think they should have been eaten by the Yōkai."

"Naturally, I know my limits."

Mao replied, then pulled Horii 's sleeve and slowly walked towards the shrine.

"Do you smell it?" Mao suddenly said when they were about to reach the entrance of the shrine.

"Yes." Horii nodded. She had a keener sense of smell than normal people and had long sensed the stench of a low-grade Yōkai that enveloped the shrine.

Mao covered nose and frowned in disgust, "It really smells terrible."

Horii smiled helplessly as she looked at her dissatisfied expression. Mao had always been a cleaner, and even she herself felt that this smell was really unpleasant, let alone a person with serious cleanliness?

"… No, there seems to be a miasma inside as well." Mao suddenly raised eyebrows and changed disgusted expression. She spread out her palm towards Horii and said, " Horii, give it to me."

Horii understood and took out two adult-shaped talismans from her bag and handed them to Mao. Mao took them and chanted an incantation with talismans between her fingers. Talismans instantly turned into two streaks of blue light and entered through the window of the shrine.

Everything returned to calm after two "chi-chi" sounds came from inside.

Horii also frowned.

Those low-grade Yōkai seemed to be more powerful than they had imagined.

"The Shiki has been torn to pieces." Mao looked at her and said.

"But it's a bit abnormal. Those Yōkai didn't retaliate when they were attacked." Horii wrote in her hand.

"Perhaps it was due to the influence of the barrier?"

"The barrier outside the shrine can only trap them. There was no reason why they should not even dare to come out of the shrine. It seems that there was a mysterious power restricting them inside the shrine. I just don't know what it was."

"Since we don't know, then let's go in and take a look," Mao said.

"It's better to make some preparations before entering." After Horii finished, she grabbed Mao 's hand. She was really worried that this little ancestor would be willful for a moment and rushed into the shrine.

"Why are you pulling me for? I won't go in now!" Mao lowered her head and looked at the stones on the ground. She angrily kicked stones and angrily said. "It's really annoying to get rid of Yōkai and stuff like that!"

…

On the way to the village chief's home, Horii saw a pair of young siblings. The siblings looked about the same age as Eiko. They were dressed in rags and pitifully snuggled up in a corner.

Mao followed her line of sight and saw the two of them as well.

Without waiting for her to ask curiously, the village chief explained, "That's Torajirou and his sister Akiko. Their parents died in the last invasion of the Yōkai, so they became orphans."

"Why don't they go home? Nobody cares about them?" Mao asked.

"Most of the houses in the village have been destroyed by the Yōkai. They haven't been rebuilt yet. Everyone's living is not good now. How can they bother with the two children? Furthermore, I heard …" The village chief lowered his voice and mysteriously moved closer to the True Yang. "They are ominous."

"Ominous?" Mao 's tone rose slightly.

"It's the reincarnation of Calamity God … Everyone thinks that they brought calamity to the village."

"Is that so?" Mao smiled coldly and pulled Horii towards the two children.

Feeling that someone was approaching, the younger sister, Akiko, raised her head gently. Her clear amber eyes flashed with a trace of panic from being disturbed.

An ominous person?

Horii stared at the pair of eyes and observed them repeatedly. Although she did not know how to divine like Reiko, a person with such pure eyes did not look like an ominous person. On the contrary, she could feel weak Spiritual Energy fluctuations from the girl’s body.

"Say something. “She hinted Mao with her eyes.

Mao rolled her eyes and tried to stiffly imitate Reiko’s usual gentle smile. She asked, "You are … called Akiko, aren't you?"

The girl blinked timidly, her large watery eyes revealing some uneasiness.

"You don't have to be afraid …"

Mao did not know how to ease the little girl. After a long time of struggling, she could only squeeze out such a dry sentence.

Perhaps seeing that Mao did not have any hostile intentions, the girl nodded slightly. She glanced at the old village chief standing not far away and whispered, "Mistress Witch Lord, are you here to eliminate the demons?"

"Yes, we have been entrusted."

"Mistress Witch Lord, you should leave quickly. This place is very dangerous."

Mao was amused by her sincere suggestion, "If it's dangerous here, we can't leave. As a witch, my duty is to protect people like you."

"But … it's really dangerous. The village chief is not the original village chief anymore …" Akiko's words stopped abruptly. She instantly restrained all her expressions and lowered her head. She just squeezed herself to her brother's side.

"Mistress Witch." Mao was still curious about Akiko's behaviour, but the village chief's voice suddenly came from behind, causing her to be slightly surprised.

Was her perception lacking enough that she could not discover someone is approaching? She raised her head to look at Horii and found that Horii also shook her head with a calm expression.

"Lady Witch, it's going to be dark soon. Let's hurry up and leave."

"Let's go first." Horii silently wrote in Mao's hand.

Mao glanced at the siblings and signaled for the village chief to lead the way.

Her instincts told her that the siblings might know something, but with the village chief here, she probably wouldn't be able to ask anything.

Thinking of this, Mao couldn't help but put a big question mark on the village chief.

What did Akiko mean by "the village chief is not the original village chief"? Why did she appear so afraid of the village chief?

Mao only felt that she and Horii had entered a bureau filled with fog, and someone had already laid down a large net to wait for them in the dark.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

Deep into the night, moonlight climbed in through the window.

Horii leaned against the wall and sat under the window. Her back was close to the wall. The cool feeling spread throughout her body through the thin witch costume. Her fingers couldn't help but tremble twice. The cold moonlight shone on her side, outlining the beautiful silhouette that only belongs to a girl.

Mao was sleeping beside her. It was inappropriate to say that she was asleep. She opened her eyes, and there was no hint of sleepiness in her bright eyes. The moonlight was cold and the night was quiet.

She stared at Horii for a long time, then gently tugged at her sleeve. Horii lowered her head to look at her. "What's the matter?" Her eyes were filled with such inquiries. "What are you thinking?" Mao did not say anything, only writing in Horii's palm.

"I was thinking … something very strange." Horii's hand paused for a moment before continuing, "Village Chief, Akiko, and the shrine."

"Do you think there was something wrong?" "There are many concerns." Horii frowned and her fingertips slowed down, making Mao itch. "And don't you think this village is too quiet?"

Yes, the village was too quiet. Normally, there would be some people's voices in such a medium-sized village, but nothing could be heard here. "It's really too quiet indeed." Mao nodded.

"I suspect this village……" Horii was about to write something else but she heard a miserable scream from the silent night. She exchanged glances with Mao and immediately jumped up from the ground and rushed towards the direction of shrine.

The shrine was naturally the same shrine in the daytime, but the barrier that enveloped it had disappeared for some unknown reason. Before they could get close, a black shadow wrapped in dense evil energy suddenly rushed out of the shrine and pounced towards the two of them. Mao quickly picked up the bow and loosened her finger. The spirit power of the Demon Breaking Arrow quickly flew to the black shadow. The blue Spiritual Energy burned the body of the monster like a flame. The shadow gradually turned into a Spiritual Child in the air with an unwilling scream.

However, it's not over yet!

The moment this thought flashed through Horii's mind, four or five more black shadows immediately rushed out of the shrine. She silently chanted an incantation in her heart as she picked up the talisman paper and threw it in four directions, hoping to form a Five Elements Formation to temporarily suppress the black shadow.

However, the idea was good does not mean a perfect implementation. The black shadow's strength was more powerful than she had expected. A Five Elements Talisman was actually intercepted and deviated from its original position.

What should we do?

Horii did not know who can answer this question. She looked at the Yōkai charging towards her. She had no choice but closed her eyes to take out the last Spirit Cleansing Talisman.

"If you don't have the ability, don't be brave. Get out of the way!"

A familiar voice suddenly sounded. Horii felt that someone had pushed her out of the range of Yōkai attack. She opened her eyes and saw that Mao's thin figure was standing in front of her.

She picks the bow, put on the arrow, and release it. In just a few seconds, these three movements were completed in one go. The pace was so fast that Horii didn't even have time to see them clearly. The Demon Breaking Arrow shot out like lightning. Blue Spiritual Energy was even more dazzling than it was as if the flame is going to burn all the filth in the world.

"Boom!" the longbow touched the ground. "Mao!" Horii immediately got up from the ground and rushed to Mao's side. "I'm fine." Mao's face turned slightly pale. She held Horii's hand and stood steady. Then, she said, "Let’s come into the shrine and have a look."

…

Mao immediately felt regret when they entered the shrine. She suggested entering the shrine only aim to find out the origins of Yōkai, but if she had known in advance the real situation, she probably wouldn't have made the same decision.

In the shrine, a young witch in white pants stood with a long sabre in hand. There was a beautiful blood flower blooming on her chest. However, the tip of the sabre pointed straight at the giant spider in the middle of the room, not wavering in the slightest.

One person and one Yōkai confronted each other, even if Horii and the others did not divert the slightest bit of their attention. "It's … a spider Yōkai." Mao said softly.

It was only now that she saw the true appearance of the Yōkai hiding in the shrine, and the transparent threads that extended from the heads of the black shadows-those were spider threads.

They fall into a trouble condition obviously. It seems that it won't be so easy to get out again. Mao tilted her head to look at Horii and realized that Horii also understood what kind of situation they met.

Perhaps it was because they had been silent for too long, or perhaps the Yōkai try to take advantage of the chance, the giant spider let out a low roar and suddenly split out a few black shadows. Shadows pounced toward Horii and the others.

This was a smart strategy, Yōkai tried to defeat the weakest enemy. Horii did not stop her mudra when she was analyzing her enemy. At the same time, she even took time to look at the strange young witch.

Her fight seemed to be even more miserable. There were even more shadows surrounding her. They attacked the young witch constantly. There was no chance for her to catch a breath. Sooner or later, she'll die if this goes on. Horii understood that they need to find a way to kill the big spider, the command centre of these shadows. That was the turning point.

She wasn't the only one who discovered this. The witch had also aware it. "Two of you, back off!" Just as Mao was trying to shoot an arrow at the spider, the young witch began her action. She told Horii and Mao to retreat, while she went up to get close to the spider.

Raising hand and waving the sword. The silver blade was dazzling as the moonlight reflection. Horii pulled Mao to hide behind the door and closed her eyes. She didn't open eyes again until the screams of the spider disappeared.

"Are you guys sent by Witch [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko?" The weak female voice was questionable, but it carried a certain tone. "Yes, may I ask if you are witch Haruko?" Mao walked out and took a step forward to ask her.

"Yes, I am." The young witch nodded. "I know you have many questions. What I want to tell you is that the monsters' purpose is to break the seal on the Evil Dragon's bones." "Evil Dragon's bones?"

"That was a very powerful monster several hundred years ago. After its death, the demonic energy of the corpse did not dissipate. So the corpse becomes the target of many other Yōkai. If the Yōkai obtained the corpse, they could greatly increase their demonic power. In order to avoid this situation, a witch sealed the Evil Dragon Bone."

As Haruko spoke, she suddenly covered her chest and coughed softly, "Cough cough …"

"Are you all right?" Mao asked with concern.

"Cough … I'm fine. Right now, the most important thing is to prevent the Yōkai from breaking the seal."

"Where is that place?"

"It's in a dry well behind the village!"


	5. Chapter 5

Horii had never known that being dragged away was such a painful thing. After receiving Haruko's request to dig out the Demon Sealing Seal at the entrance of the village. Mao quickly pulled her towards the back of the village. The wind whistled in her ears, making her feel a little uncomfortable, but she could not refuse it. Haruko was still waiting for their reinforcement, so she could not lag behind. If it was too late, it would be bad. Hurry up, hurry up! Horii prayed silently, trying her best to keep up with Mao.

  
“When the issue is finished, I definitely exercise properly.” she thought. Her eyes narrowed when she accidentally skimmed through the woods beside the village while she was running. Akiko! Save her first? But the seal …

Thousands of thoughts flashed through her mind, but she grabbed Mao's sleeve first. "What's wrong? Haruko is still waiting for us" Mao turned her head in confusion, her tone filled with doubt and dissatisfaction.

Horii shook her head and didn't say anything. She pointed at the forest. Mao looked in the direction Horii was pointing at and could vaguely see the white kimono flashing through the bushes corner.

  
"Akiko?" She'll be here soon anyway. Harii nodded.

Horii knew that they shouldn't be distracted from doing anything else at this time, but she couldn't let Akiko die. She believed that Mao thought the same. Sure enough, Mao hesitated for a moment and quickly made the decision. "Let's go take a look. Hurry up."

There was no moonlight in the pitch-black bushes. Only a quiet and uneasy atmosphere pervaded the air. Mao looked around vigilantly. She didn't know why she had been separated from Horii after entering the forest. The horrible phenomenon made her worry about Horii's situation. Suddenly, a dead branch being trampled off from behind her. That was an originally soft sound, but she still caught it.

Mao quickly turned around, only to see something red flashing through the forest and disappearing very quickly. "Lord Witch, what are you looking for?" An old voice sounded really close to her. Mao suddenly turned around and saw the village chief standing a few steps away. There was no moonlight in the forest. Apart from his scarlet eyes, she was completely unable to see the village chief's expression. However, her intuition warned that the eyes owner must be filled with malice.

" Village Chief?" She shouted suspiciously. "Haha, Mistress Witch, it's so late, why are you here?" The old village chief asked with an evil smile. Mao was shocked and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

  
This Village Chief seemed to be no longer the Village Chief they had met at the beginning, and that pair of strange red eyes was the best proof.

Mao kept silent and the village chief did not care as well. He said to "Is Lord Witch looking for something? For example …" He grabbed something from behind him, "For example, this child?"

Child? Mao narrowed eyes and looked carefully. She was 100 percent believe that the child was Akiko. "What do you want to do?" She asked coldly. Yamashita grinned and said, "What are you doing? Little girls at this age are delicious. What do you think I'm going to do?"

Mao's eyes turned cold. She raised her hand and drew an arrow. The tip of the arrow pointed straight at the village chief. "Let her go."

  
"Don't point an arrow at me, witch!" Yamashita laughed maliciously, "Otherwise, I might have strangled her to death by accident." Mao stared at the scarlet eyes and slowly put down her hand.

"You are trying to drag me." She broke the plot without any politeness. There was no answer from Yamashita. He looked in the direction of the sealed area and said to himself, "Do you feel it? The evil dragon's power has already surged out, and the seal is about to be undone." "I wish Reiko is here. This feeling of hopelessness must be great … If she hadn't hurt Master, why would Master need it … If it wasn't for her …" he said with a glance at Mao.

Mentioning Reiko, the expression on Yamashita instantly became ferocious. The hatred in his scarlet eyes burned like flames. "If it was Lord Reiko, you would have been sent to your last life. How could you still be standing here?"

"Mistress Witch, do you want to stop the seal from opening, or do you want to save this child?" He lifted Akiko up. Akiko's thin figure swayed along with his movements twice. Her lifeless little face made people worried if she was still alive.

  
Just as Mao was hesitating about whether or not to shot him, the sealed area suddenly shone with a bright red light. The seal was undone. The thought flashed through her mind. Yamashita laughed twice and suddenly threw Akiko into Mao's embrace. "Here you go!"

Mao responded reflexively, but she did not notice the malicious intentions hidden in his scarlet eyes. Very quickly, a burst of stinging pain. She lowered her head in astonishment and saw “Akiko” piercing her chest with tentacles. Then, she slowly raised her face and smiled strangely.

Mao endured the pain and grabbed Akiko and threw her out. Flames ignited. “Akiko”, who was laughing craftily, was instantly engulfed by the azure-blue flames and quickly dissipated into the air as a Spirit Child.

"Cough cough cough …" Mao half knelt on the ground, covered her chest and coughed a few times. Her angry gaze landed on the village chief, "That's not Akiko. Where is the real Akiko?"

  
"I never said that it was Akiko. However, Lady Witch, you are so eager to save the child that you can't even distinguish between Yokai and humans." Yamashita Village Chief said mockingly, "Although Reiko is powerful, the witch she taught is too weak to withstand a single blow." "Shut up!"

"Haha, are you angry from embarrassment? Forget it, let me send you on your way." As he spoke, he walked to Mao and said, "Master's plan must not go wrong …"

"Do you know why there is a saying called Evil Invincible Righteousness?" Mao suddenly revealed an unfathomable smile. "What, what--ah!!!--" A demon-shattering arrow shot silently from the back of the mountain, and then fiercely pierced through the back of his head. Yamashita immediately let out a miserable scream. "Because they talk too much."

Mao landed on the ground and stood up. She took out a white arrow from the bazooka and placed it on the bow. Then, she loosened the bowstring at Yamashita. Arrow whistled and drew a graceful arc in the air before piercing into the eyes of Yamashita.

Few monsters could resist two demon-shattering arrows, and the mountain was no exception. Therefore, he died, and his venomous gaze turned into a Spirit Child. "Hu, I'm exhausted." Mao immediately fell to the ground when she killed Yamashita.

She's really tired. Previously, she said that she was stalling at the foot of the mountain. She could tell that the strength Yamashita was higher than her, so she tried to drag him out until Horii found her. For this reason, she didn't hesitate to endure the monster's plot.

This was a deadly gamble of her life. If Horii did not arrive on time, she would only die. Fortunately, she won. Thinking of this, she raised her head and smiled at Horii, who had just walked out of the forest with the longbow on her back. She praised, "It's rare for you to have such good accuracy. You actually shot his in the back of the head with one arrow … It's just a little bit inferior to me."

“Occasionally, there would be times when you were lucky and felt good”. Horii thought silently, then rolled her eyes at Zhen Yang, walked to her side, and wrote in her palm, "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine, just a slight injury." The tentacle seemed to be deeply pierced, but in fact, it was only slightly pierced. It was not serious at all. After receiving a positive answer, Horii nodded and continued to write, "I've already found Akiko, but her brother has already been … let's hurry to the sealed area. The seal has been opened, and now we must stop that Yokai from gaining the power of the evil dragon!"

  
Mao nodded and grabbed the longbow and stood up from the ground. “Hiss … It’s really hurt …”She muttered softly, then ignored the chaos all over her body and pulled Horii to the place where the evil dragon was buried.


	6. Chapter 6

Before they could reach the burial ground, Horii and Mao stopped as they looked at the shocking scene in front of them. At this time, the seal had been completely cast off, and the demonic red light pillar seemed to penetrate the heavens and the earth. A huge figure floated in the center of light. As time passed, the demonic power intercepted and climbed up, quickly reaching an astonishing level.

There was also white light appeared in the sky, unlike the red light it was extremely faint. Although the color of the white light was so dim that it was almost invisible, it still rushed straight towards the red light pillar like a moth pouncing on a fire.

With a "boom", the white light slashed onto the pillar of light with a loud explosion, but then something unbelievable happened. Countless slender filaments stretched out from the red pillar of light, wrapped around the white light and these filaments devoured the white light bit by bit. "It's Haruko." Mao muttered in a daze, "She's completely suppressed."

Horii bit her lower lip and grabbed the bow from the shrine and ran towards the pillar of light. "Horii, wait for me!" Mao chased after him.

As the red light grew brighter and brighter, the giant monster in the pillar of light was about to come out. Suddenly, another powerful demonic energy appeared in the sealed area and entered Horii's perception.

What's that? Horii raised her head in surprise. A faint white figure flashed in the air. At almost the same time, the red pillar of light was sliced in half by the sudden emergence of the azure-blue blade of light. A certain mysterious ritual was interrupted as well.

This time, there was no need for her to say anything else. Mao had already run to the battlefield before her. As she had expected, by the time she and Mao reached the burial ground, the battle was over. A corpse larger than the spider that they had seen before was broken into two pieces and scattered on the ground, hissing smoke-it was evident that it had been sliced at the waist by the strange monster that had suddenly appeared.

The strange monster seemed to have disappeared, leaving behind only a faint aura that showed that he had been here before. Horii gently sniffed twice and discovered that this strange demonic aura not seem dirty and unpleasant to smell, it even revealed a refreshing freshness like the snow. Even when she closed her eyes, an elegant and arrogant young master could be seen in front of her.

"Haruko!" Mao cried out in alarm. She quickly ran to Haruko, who was on the verge of death, and supported her. "Horii, hurry up and take a look!" Horii stood there and shook her head. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to save her, but that she didn't need to look closely to know that this young witch was unable to recovery.The wound on her chest and the backlash of her spiritual energy made it impossible for even [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko, who was proficient in pharmacology, to save a person who was about to die.

"Horii!" Mao angrily shouted again. Horii sighed helplessly and slowly walked over. "I can't save her." She wrote in Mao's hand. "I know" Mao bit her lip. "I just don't want to see anyone die in front of me." "Cough cough" Haruko weakly coughed twice and opened her eyes again. "Sorceress Haruko, you …" "I don't have much time left. I'll tell you all your questions now." Haruko interrupted Mao, "The monsters' goal is to open the seal and obtain the power of the evil dragon."

They were possessed on the villagers. When I noticed the situation, almost everyone was already under the control. I had no choice but to cast off the barrier of the shrine and trap the leader of the monster. However, I didn't expect one of its subordinates to escape and possessed by the village chief …" "Was the village chief possessed a long time ago?" Mao asked in a deep voice.

Haruko nodded and continued, “Then village chief tricked many mages and monks. They were eaten by the demons as soon as they entered the shrine." Haruko tone paused slightly, as if she didn't want to think too much about this matter. "Later on, that Yokai went to look for Lord [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko, but it definitely didn't expect that it was the two of you …" "Because Lord Reiko injured that spider monster?"

"Yes, if it weren't for the fact that the monster was injured, I wouldn't have been able to trap it for so long." After saying that, Haruko took a deep breath and said, "Help me to the well. I want to re-seal the Evil Dragon's skeleton." Mao silently helped her to the well.

"Your name is Mao, aren't you?" Haruko suddenly turned around and asked. After receiving Mao’s reply, she smiled and said, "Can I ask you something? My body has been contaminated by evil energy, so when I die, I will be cremated …" Mao hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "Alright."

Haruko closed her eyes as if she was relieved, holding the Demon Sealing Seal and silently chanting an ancient incantation. Spirit power gradually gathered above the well, echoing from afar. The dried well seemed to have come back to life again. The invisible heart was beating, and its pulse was fluctuating. An aura from the Ancient Desolate Realm was emitted from it.

Haruko smiled slightly, and a few small crystalline particles and light balls peeled off her body and flew into the well. "Seal it with your own soul" Mao looked at Haruko's actions and was surprised for a while before finally returning to silence. Using her own soul to seal the yokai would prevent her soul from entering reincarnation. As a witch, it was impossible for Haruko not to know this, but she still did so.

After a long time, the forest returned to silence. Haruko's hand, which was sealed on her chest, slowly fell down. Mao quickly stepped forward to support her body and let her lie on the ground smoothly.

"What are you going to do?" Horii wrote in her hand. Mao's gaze fell on Haruko's smiling face. After a moment of silence, she said, "Follow her last wishes."

After returning to the shrine, Horii and Mao immediately went to see Lord [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko. After hearing what had happened, Reiko’s expression turned ugly. "When I was divining earlier, I knew that there would be danger on your trip, but I didn't expect that it was me who brought about this danger." Reiko sighed softly, "Fortunately, the two of you are fine."

"Right." Reiko remembered another thing, "Where is the little girl you brought back?" "She was placed in a village at the foot of the mountain." Mao replied. After getting rid of the yokai in Maple Village, only a dozen villagers survived. After discussing with Horii, she first brought Akiko back.

"Haruko originally wanted to nurture her next witch, right?" "Yes, Akiko said that Haruko had taught her for a period of time, but the invasion of the village interrupted her plan. This is also one of the reasons why she was able to avoid the possession of the monster." "Lord Reiko, do you know what that powerful monster who killed the Spider Demon is?" Mao asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure. I've never heard of any powerful monsters nearby. Maybe they're just passing by." [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko frowned slightly. After a while, she said, "Forget it. There seems to be some disturbance within the monsters recently. Don't go out this time. Remember to concentrate on cultivating. I've divined a few times and the results show that it's all fierce." Horii nodded. Just as she was about to leave with Mao, [Rei](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=rei&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)ko stopped her. "Mao, wait a moment."


	7. Chapter 7

A month later, Mao saw Horii again. The girl in red silk pants sat quietly by the window and flipped through an ancient book. Her long black hair gently hung down and landed on her shoulders. She blinked her eyelashes twice and looked at the door as if she had sensed something. "Mao." She smiled.

"Looks like you've almost recovered." Mao walked to her side and said, "Lord Reiko's medicine is very useful." "Yes, she is very powerful indeed." Horii replied. After returning from Maple Village, Reiko began to let her consume the potion formulated according to the ancient recipe. In fact, the effect was indeed very good. In just a month, Horii’s voice had almost completely recovered. "Where's your ShiKi? Did you successfully summon it?" Mao asked again.

Horii shook her head. She tried many times this month, but all failed. On the other hand, Mao had summoned a pair of ShiKi after studying for a few days. Reiko also said that her talent was very high. In the future, she might even summon one of the Twelve Divine Generals. However, she knew that her talent was inferior to Mao's, so she wasn't discouraged.

"What an idiot!" Mao looked down at her and scolded her. Then, she didn't start again. She looked arrogant and said, "Anything that you don't understand that you can ask me, Lord Mao!"

This kind of aura emanating from her entire body, "Come and beg me to teach you." She looked even more childish than Eiko. Horii silently finished her evaluation in her heart, then lowered her head and wore a gloomy expression. Very soon, her book was taken away. "Well, actually you're not stupid" Mao said awkwardly, "High-grade ShiKis are indeed harder to summon than those low-grade … Hey! I apologize to you, why are you ignoring me!"

Hearing this, Horii smiled and raised her head. She caressed Mao’s head and said, "I'm not sad." Really, it's so easy to deceive, but there's not even the slightest bit of success in doing this. Horii thought about it and sighed slightly. "You …!" Mao pointed at her, her face flushed red with anger. "You deliberately pretended to be sad to deceive me again!"

"Yes, yes, this isn't the first time. Mao, why are you so easily fooled?"

"Damn it! I will never be tricked again!" Horii watched Mao leave angrily and couldn't help but bend her eyebrows. She just liked to see Mao’s angry profile. This habit seemed to be very difficult to break.

…

After another two days, Mao still did not appear. Horii wondered if she had gone too far. However, when she received the news from Reiko that Mao was helping to stabilize the barrier, she relaxed and went to the back mountain to continue practicing the ShiKi summoning.

Probably because it was already summer, the wind that blew towards him also carried a little warmth. Although Horii was not afraid of the heat, she still found a tree, climbed up nimbly, and found a comfortable place to lie down. The wind blew through the leaves, the mottled images of the leaves dancing on her body, the wide sleeves hanging down from the trees, swaying gently in the wind.

Hearing the sporadic cries of the cicadas, Horii thought to herself, if only time could stop here. "Hey, what are you doing?" The girl's cry came from under the tree, accompanied by a green and yellow fruit also appeared before her eyesight.

Horii wouldn't let the fruit hit her so she raised her hand to catch it.

"In order not to be called an idiot by someone again, I'm trying to study." She shook the book in her other hand and weighed the wild fruit up and down. "This fruit is not ripe yet, can't you wait for it to ripen before picking it?" "The sour ones are the delicious ones." Horii listened to her words and tasted it. The sour and astringent smell made her almost smash down. "It tastes bad." She commented. "You have a strange taste." Mao said with a unbelievable expression. Horii thought “Who exactly has a weird taste!?”

"Oh right, aren't you helping Lord Reiko stabilize the barrier? Why do you have time to come over?" "Actually, the rate of loss of spirit power has slowed down. It will probably be completely repaired before winter begins. Furthermore, the monsters seem to be showing signs of retreating recently, so I'll be fine after I leave for a while." Mao explained while biting the wild fruit.

"Slow down?"

"Probably because of the recent destruction of quite a few nearby monsters." Mao said, "Just increase your strength as fast as you could. When Lord Reiko and I were busy, you were actually slacking off!" "Isn't this slacking off? I'm practicing summon ShiKi." Horii explained. "Hummm, I won't talk with you anymore." Mao stood up and said, "I'm going back."

Horii looked at her departing back and suddenly shouted to her, "Mao, will you come here again next summer?" "What nonsense are you talking about?" A green wild fruit broke through the air and smashed into her forehead, "Not only next year, the year after, but the year after. As long as I want to come, of course I will come!"

Horii covered her forehead and rubbed it. She couldn't help but laugh when she looked at Mao's bright and unbridled smile. "As you leave so tragically, making me feel like you're gone forever!" Another wild fruit flew over and was successfully dodged by Horii. "Don't curse me!"

After Mao left, the back mountain seemed to have returned to silence. Horii opened the ancient book and looked at it again. Suddenly, she was surprised to discover that even the contents that she originally couldn't understand were now understandable. "… Wandering soul, please listen to my summons …" Originally, she was just casually reading according to the book, but gradually, Horii noticed the loss of spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy in the air was slowly condensing.

Finally, the Spiritual Energy fluctuations stopped. Horii leaned her head and looked down with unique feeling. The woman in the luxurious twelve-piece clothes also happened to obediently raise her head. Her gaze fell into a pair of cherry-colored eyes unexpectedly.

Horii looked at this woman who had suddenly appeared. Her long smooth hair was like a waterfall, her features were like a picture, and her every move was elegant. If Horii hadn't seen the woman’s appearance with her own eyes, she would have thought that she was a princess. Horii's gaze landed on the flaming mark on her forehead and asked, "Are you my ShiKi?"

The woman leaned on the ground and replied respectfully, "Yes, Master." "Then what's your name?" "I don't have a name." Horii stared at her enchanting face for a long time before finally saying, "Since you don't have a name, I'll give you one." "From now on, your name is Masu."


	8. Unexpected Visitors

Time slowly passed through the day-to-day curse practice. Unknowingly, winter arrived.

The villagers at the foot of the mountain had already begun to prepare for the New Year Celebration. Reiko had to treat many people who came to the shrine to pray for blessings every day. Horii had not seen Mao for a long time, she heard that Mao had gone out to sharpen her ability. Horii looked at the big tree outside the shrine and sighed.

Right now, only she was idle.

"Masu, when Mao will be back?"

"Probably after the New Year Celebration."

"Not even before the New Year Celebration …" Horii raised her head. The winter sunlight pierced the branches of the tree and fell on her face.

"Masu, this winter is really cold."

…

The dull life did not last long.

The day before the New Year eve, Reiko’s Shiki (Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony) brought the latest news about Mao.

"Lord Mao died together with and the Yokai."

Horii tightly covered her ears, but Shiki's voice still rushed in through her fingers.

How is that possible?

How could that seemingly arrogant but awkward girl die so suddenly?

Horii thought this must be a joke of the Shiki (Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony). However, everyone knew that Reiko's Shiki would not do anything other than convey information.

Reiko accepted the truth without saying any word.

In fact, two days ago, before the tragedy happened on Mao, Reiko had already divined for Mao. The trigrams were extremely fierce. At that time, Reiko only thought it was a divination mistake, but now it seemed that there was not the slightest mistake.

Lingzi's mood had only been low for two days before she regained her composure and stepped up her training for Holly.

Reiko had a faint premonition that she would not be able to live long, and only Horii would be able to take on the responsibility of guarding the village after she died.

The boring practices repeated over and over again, and this situation continued until the summer of the next year.

At that time, Horii was just 13 years old.

…

On a summer night, the moonlight was very bright.

The cicada in the daytime just stopped noising but the frogs in the farmland began singing at night.

Suddenly, the wind stopped.

The noisy frog also seemed to have been choked by someone, instantly losing its voice.

Two shocking strands of demonic energy appeared one after another in the back mountain, awakening the sleeping Horii. She opened her eyes and grabbed her coat. Just as she was about to rush out to look for Reiko, she lifted the curtain and saw that Reiko was standing at the door, smiling at her.

She put on the beautiful figured coat, and her long black hair, which had always been scattered behind her head, also be tied up. Her appearance was dignified and solemn.

"Lord Reiko …"

Horii said in a daze. She really couldn't understand Reiko's actions. The Yokai had come, so why was Reiko dressed so seriously instead of preparing for the battle?

Reiko shook her head with a chuckle and interrupted Horii, "Can you accompany me to meet an old friend, Horii?"

What kind of old friend would visit in the middle of the night?

A faint doubt appeared in Horii's mind. However, when she thought of the two Yokais that had suddenly appeared, she suddenly understood.

If Reiko's friends were those Yokais, then her relaxed behaviour could be understandable.

Horii thought like this but did not ask anything. She nodded silently and changed into a witch dress to follow behind Reiko.

The night was quiet.

The silver full moon hung high up in the night sky, and the moonlight illuminated the path to the back mountain.

From afar, Horii could see two figures, one tall and one short. The same silver hair loosened behind his shoulders, reflecting the moonlight as if there were waves of water flowing in it.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the taller man turned around first.

That was undoubtedly a very handsome man. He wore a brocade robe with bamboo flowers and was covered in armour. Two swords were attached to his waist. His sharp ears and two blue demon patterns showed his inhuman identity.

It was supposed to be a cold and arrogant image, but it softened because of the smile on his lips.

He chuckled, "Long time no see, Reiko."

"It's been a long time since we parted ten years ago, Great General Dog," Reiko replied with a smile.

"The Yokai from the west direction have calmed down quite a bit recently. I came to see you when I was passing by." Said the Dog General.

As he spoke, he turned to look at the youth who was half a head shorter than him, his eyes filled with pride as a father.

"This is my son, the Sesshoumaru."

"Sure enough, he is very similar to you."

"This should be the first time you've seen him, right?"

Reiko nodded, "This is indeed the first time you meet him, right?"

Horii stood behind Reiko and stole a peek.

The young man’s facial features seemed to be even more exquisite than his father’s. There were two demonic red patterns on his fair jade-like faces. A crescent appeared on his foreheads. His cold temperament was matched by a white-backed eighth-level red cherry-patterned luxurious dress. People couldn't help but think of such descriptions of a noble young master.

However … his demonic aura seemed to have a faint sense of familiarity.

Horii gently sniffed. The cold and clear aura was like the first snow of winter … It seemed to be the demonic aura she had sensed in Maple Village

When she was distracted, her gaze lingered for a long time.

Sensing her peeking, Sesshoumaru, who had not given his face since they met, suddenly raised his head. He had inherited the golden eyes of the Dog Race, but they weren't as gentle as the Dog General's. Instead, they were as cold as his temperament.

A weak human.

After seeing clearly that it was only a human staring at him, Sesshoumaru withdrew his gaze.

Horii was swept a glance by his gaze, and his mind was instantly blank.

There was probably no one in the world who could grow to such a peerless beauty. That was not the beauty that a human should have.

No, even a monster wouldn't have such a face. Horii thought.

Perhaps it was because she was too impressed at first sight that she recalled this scene over and over again during the two hundred years that she was sealed.

She remembered that shocking glance.

Of course, this was another story.

Apart from being stunned by the Sesshoumaru, the current Horii could also feel the pressure coming from his body-it was because his strength was far superior to hers.

For some reason, Horii suddenly felt a little thirsty for power.

She raised her hand to cover her chest.

Horii’s heart was pounding, and Horii’s blood seemed to have been ignited by this inexplicable desire, burning and boiling.

She wanted power …

She wanted to … become as powerful as the Sesshoumaru. 


	9. An unexpected reunion

General Dog's visit was just a small episode in ordinary life. As he left, Horii quickly forgot about him. Apart from occasionally remembering that noble young master's demonic youth, she had practically put all of her spiritual energy into cultivation.

Strangely enough, ever since Reiko had nurtured Horii as her successor and taught everything to Horii. Horii had discovered that her spiritual power had started to grow rapidly. The growing speed had almost reached a terrifying level.

Horii was a little worried that something would happen to her body, so she stopped cultivating.

However, her ShiKi (Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony) didn't care about it, and her ShiKi even paid more attention to Horii’s cultivation. Horii finally managed to find a reason to pull the ShiKi out, but not long after she lay down, ShiKi’s pretty face appeared in front of her again.

"Master."

"MaSu(The name of Horii’s ShiKi)." Horii rubbed her temples and sat up helplessly. "Has your mission been completed?"

"It's just a few frustrated monsters. There's no need to waste time." She pursed her lips and smiled, "Master, if you are lazy, you will never become the number one witch of the Warring States Period."

Horii sighed, "When have I ever said such a thing?"

After witnessing the magnificence and strength of the Sesshoumaru that night, she did have the desire to become stronger. However, she was sure that she had never said anything like becoming the number one witch.

ShiKi smiled at her. Her body did not move much. In the blink of an eye, she had already climbed up the tree and sat down beside Horii with her sleeves rolled up.

"Isn't that what Master thinks?" ShiKi raised her sleeve to cover the smile on lips. "Master was very unhappy that Yokai called Sesshoumaru ignored you at that time."

Horii silently recalled that she did feel a little disappointed because of being ignored, but it was definitely not as exaggerated as the ShiKi had said.

MaSu continued, "That was unacceptable. He refused to even give a single glance and completely ignored you."

"…"

"If I can become strong, I will be able to make that fellow face me head-on. Is that what Master thinks?"

"MaSu" Horii raised her head gloomily. "Did I ever tell you that a too noisy ShiKi is not pleasing?"

"Everything I say is your heartfelt wishes." ShiKi covered half of her face with her sleeves and looked at Horii with watery eyes.

Horii picked up the etiquette fan and said in embarrassment, "Enough!"

'"Yes, yes, master, I shouldn't have teased you," ShiKi said, stretching out a finger to press against the fan.

Horii pulled back the etiquette fan and laid down on the big tree again with her messy witch costume.

As if she had thought of something, she suddenly asked, "What's going on in the northwest recently?"

"Yokai from the west and local Yokai have clashed there. The northwest has become the second battlefield after the southeast battlefield."

"What's the cause?"

"I'm not sure. I only heard that Western Yokai are looking for something."

"Then how is the situation now?"

"It has been two battles, and the local monsters are currently in an advantage … Oh, right, the leader of the local monsters is the dog general who visited Lord Reiko last time."

"Western Yokai" Horii repeated. Suddenly, she turned her head and said, "MaSu, do you remember when Western Yokai appeared on a large scale?"

"At that time, I didn't become a Shiki yet. I didn't know very well, but it was about seven years ago."

"In other words, that was the year when I was picked up by Reiko." Horii raised a hand and touched the scar on her neck. It was left behind by the Yokai three years ago, and now it was so faint that it was almost invisible.

"Maybe we should check it out if we have time …"

…

A few months later, when the weeds in the back mountain passed through Horii's calves and the summer solstice was approaching, Horii suddenly sensed the demonic aura of Sesshoumaru one day.

The demonic energy appeared in the back mountain without warning and stayed there for a long time.

Originally, Horii didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs. After all, Reiko was out, and she didn't have any friendship with Sesshoumaru. If she rushed over, she might make him felt unhappy.

However, after noticing that Sesshoumaru hadn't left for a long time, Horii still couldn't control her curiosity and sneaked to the back mountain to avoid the ShiKi.

The cherry blossoms in the back hill were more beautiful than usual.

Under the largest cherry blossom tree, the young Yokai dressed in luxurious clothes leaned against the tree trunk with his eyes closed like he was sleeping. When the breeze blew, the petals fell all over his body.

However, Horii realizes that he was not sleeping. There was a bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest. Horii didn't know what had caused it, but it was still bleeding.

Horii carefully took two steps forward.

Horii could tell that Sesshoumaru was in a very bad state. If the serious bleeding cannot be stopped in time, even if the son of a powerful Yokai, he would die from excessive blood loss.

In the end, she only moved a little and the Sesshoumaru opened eyes.

His fierce golden eyes looked straight at Horii with a murderous aura that carried the impression that he would kill her if she took another step forward.

Seeing his precautions, Horii raised a hand in embarrassment and waved, "I was just passing by."

It's her.

The human who hid behind his father's old friend last time. She seemed to have grown taller, and her spiritual power had also increased by quite a bit.

But no threat.

Sesshoumaru glanced at her again, restrained his killing intent, withdrew his gaze, and closed eyes again.

Seeing that he didn't react, Horii said boldly, "Your injury …"

"Fuck off." The young dog Yokai said expressionlessly with his eyes closed.

Obviously, the dog Yokai wasn't very grateful.

Horii thought silently. Then she obediently turned around and walked back to the shrine.

Back at the shrine, Horii casually flipped through a book, but her mind couldn't help but recall Sesshoumaru's pale face.

After all, it was such a serious injury that even he wouldn't be able to endure it.

"I'm so annoyed!" She scratched her hair in frustration, "Sure enough, I still can't be at ease!"

She jumped up from the ground, brought along the herbs she usually collected and rushed towards the back mountain under the puzzled gaze of her Shiki.

Sesshoumaru was still there, and because of the severe injuries, he had already fallen into a semi-unconscious state. It wasn't until Horii walked to his side that he noticed it.

He opened eyes and was about to throw the poisonous whip, Horii's body automatically responded before her consciousness could react.

She crushed Sesshoumaru.

To be exact, at that instant, she grabbed Sesshoumaru's hand with and pressed down on his chest, her knees against his lower abdomen, suppressing him to the ground without moving.

The world was silent for an instant.

Horii raised head to face the pair of golden eyes that were overflowing with killing intent and were about to turn red. She secretly cried out in her heart, "Bad Luck"

She looked away guiltily, not daring to look at Sesshoumaru's furious gaze again.

"Well… just an accident."


	10. Life-saving grace

Actually, it doesn't matter whether it was an accident or not.

Because Sesshoumaru was injured, he was exhausted. Under the combined effects of his injuries and anger, he finally fainted.

Horii carefully picked up Sesshoumaru’s clothes and frowned when she saw the faint corrosive wounds spreading in the surroundings.

Horii didn't know what kind of Yokai it was, but its toxicity was actually so great that it couldn't even suppress the poison in the Sesshoumaru’s body.

However, he was already injured to this extent. Was this fellow really trying to hold on?

Recalling the expression on Sesshoumaru's arrogant face and comparing his current situation where he was lying on the ground. Horii snorted softly in her heart and began to use spiritual energy to clean up the miasma around the wounds.

Fortunately, the Yokai's poison was strong but not difficult to remove. Horii finished treating the wound. Then, she hesitates for a while but still decides to paste all the herbs on the wound.

She didn't know that human herbs would be effective for Yokai. However, there was no better way at the moment for now. She has to try. In any case, the Great Monster's recovery ability should still be … quite formidable, right?

After doing all of this, Horii finally felt relieved. She rubbed her numb legs.

Just as Horii was about to leave, her eyes involuntarily glanced at Sesshoumaru’s fur shoulder.

She had noticed his woolly shoulders from the very beginning when she saw Sesshoumaru. It was white, fluffy, and looked very good.

Horii has a special preference for fluffy things. Every time she sees them, she just cannot stop herself to touch them.

Now, the impulse starts rising again.

She rubbed her fingers, but she still couldn't relieve the serious impulse. She secretly looked at Sesshoumaru and saw that his eyes were still closed, so she couldn't help but put her hand on the fur shoulder.

The fur shoulder was as soft and smooth as she imagined, and there seemed to be a warm feeling …

Wait?

Warm... Feeling?

Horii touched it again in disbelief. Sure enough, she found that fur shoulder was bouncing as if it was alive. Horii thought that Sesshoumaru had woken up. She was so shocked and quickly let go of the hand. Horii glanced at Sesshoumaru and saw that he was still unconscious.

"Sure enough, the things on Yokai are weird, aren't they?"

Horii muttered, but she felt that she had overlooked some details.

She lowered her head to grab fur shoulder and studied it carefully for a long time. When the “fur shoulder” jumped again, she suddenly reacted-the thing she was grabbing in her hand was not a fur shoulder at all, but the … the tail of Sesshoumaru.

She actually touched the tail of Sesshoumaru!

The idea circulated in Horii's mind.

It should not too late to drop the tail off...

Horii thought silently, then let go of her hand. She put the tail back and turned around as if nothing had happened.

On her way back to the shrine, she had basically recovered calm. And she did not show any abnormalities when she encountered the Shiki who came looking for her. However, before Horii could say a word, Shiki took the initiative to sniff.

"Master, you smell like that dog Yokai."

"MaSu, shut up."

…

Recently, only a few visitors came to the shrine

Lord Reiko had gone out for some reasons and hadn't returned yet. The villagers wouldn't go up the mountain if nothing happened. Even the little Shiki guarding the shrine had been running out from time to time recently.

In short, Horii was so idle that she felt her body was almost rusty.

Fortunately, there was someone who could keep her being busy.

Thinking of Sesshoumaru, Horii couldn't help but think of his injuries. It had already been two days since the day she had treated him. Horii thought for a moment and felt that she should go take a look.

After all, if he has died, she could collect the corpse for him.

"Master, I thought that Sesshoumaru Lord demonic aura was so strong that he didn't seem to suffer life risk." Shiki dressed in twelve simple clothes, the smile on her face seemed to have accidentally pierced through her master's mind.

"Master, if you want to see him, just say it."

Horii stiffened a bit, and she quickly pretended not to hear anything and walked out of the shrine.

Behind her, she could hear the soft sigh of the Shiki and the sound of the little Yokai hiding under the eaves.

"Lord Horii is heading back to the mountain again."

"Is she going to see the big Yokai ?"

"I heard that he looks very good …"

"Lord Horii has also reached this age …"

"Shh, keep your voice down …"

"Hey, don't squeeze me …"

"…"

Horii pressed down on her temples and took out a Talisman of the Silent Spirit Formation and threw it back without looking.

The world instantly became quiet.

A group of silenced little Yokai watched her leave unrestrained. They jumped up and down but couldn't make a sound. They could only appoint a wronged and aggrieved Shiki to cry out.

Horii clapped her hands calmly and continued walking towards the back mountain.

…

Sesshoumaru was still under the cherry tree.

When Horii went, he was sleeping against the tree trunk. The wounds on his body had already disappeared. Apart from the traces of blood left on his kimono, no one could tell that he was seriously injured to the point of dying two days ago.

The big Yokai's resilience was terrifying. Horii thought.

As a result of the previous lesson, Horii stopped walking a long-distance away. Even so, Sesshoumaru still opened his eyes.

In fact, he had already smelled her in the wind before she arrived.

Horii did not expect that the Sesshoumaru's alertness was even higher than she had imagined. She only saw the pair of golden phoenix eyes turn cold and the translucent poisonous whip waved towards her.

Bad News!

Before she could think any further, Horii immediately rolled away from this sudden attack. Sesshoumaru seemed to be making things difficult for her sincerely. With a flip of his wrist, the poisonous whip turned around and attacked her again. It was only until she rolled four times in a row that she seemed tired of this kind of trick and expressionlessly withdrew the poisonous whip.

"Cough cough" Horii clutched her chest and sat up from the ground in a sorry state. Her witch costume had been torn by the withered branches, and her long black hair, which reached her waist, was in a mess

A small-minded, bad Yokai, no woman in this life wants you!

She cursed fiercely in her heart and raised eyes to meet those golden eyes. Suddenly, she felt a little guilty.

Canine Yokai shouldn't be able to read minds, right?

Sesshoumaru naturally didn't know how to read minds. He looked at Horii's sorry appearance and said indifferently, "For the sake of that Reiko witch and father were old acquaintances, I won't kill you for offending me earlier."

This fellow was indeed holding a grudge.

When Horii thought of this, for some reason, she suddenly asked boldly, "Then how are you going to repay my life-saving kindness?"

Seeing Sesshoumaru glance at her coldly, Horii even boldly added, "What about marry me?"

A green poisonous whip glowed in response.


	11. Destined parting

Horii returned to the shrine in a mess. Inevitably, few little Yokai murmured constantly but since they had only recently learned a lesson, only a few older Yokai dared to mutter something behind their backs, such as, "Young people are impulsive …"

Horii raised her eyebrows, pretending that she didn't hear anything. She obediently sat down and allowed ShiKi to comb her hair.

"Sesshoumaru truly does not show mercy to others." ShiKi looked at the scratches on her master's body and sighed faintly.

"MaSu! Don't think about those porn things!" Horii turned around somewhat embarrassedly, "It was clearly because that guy suddenly ambushed me!"

"Master, what do you think I'm thinking?" ShiKi raised her sleeve to hide her smiling face.

"…"

Horii rubbed her forehead, feeling that her dignity as a master had disappeared. Could it be that all the ShiKi in the world are like this? But Lord Reiko's ShiKi was clearly very obedient.

"Alright, I'm not joking anymore." "Master should stay away from Sesshoumaru in the future. After all, he is not as kind to humans as Great General Dog. If he has the intention to kill you, I'm afraid that Master will not be his match."

Horii nodded, as if she had remembered something, and asked, "Do Yokai not eat human food?"

"This depends on what kind of Yokai it is …" she gestured for Horii to look at the little monsters outside the door. "It seems like they like to steal human food."

Horii glanced at the little demons. They were all full and lying at the door, basking in the sun. Their stomachs were bulging. They looked extremely stupid. However, it was precisely because they were kind-natured and helpful to stabilize the spirit formation. So Master Reiko left them at the shrine.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to ask, "If that Yokai doesn't eat human food, what should they eat?"

"Eat people."ShiKi replied with a smile.

'"Ah …" Horii took a long time to react. She looked up and said sincerely, "I promise that I will stay away from Sesshoumaru in the future."

ShiKi smiled and remained silent.

…

After staying for another two days, Sesshoumaru finally left.

Horii stared at the sky outside the window until the demonic aura completely left her range of perception. Then, she picked up the book and continued to flip through it.

If nothing unexpected happened, they probably wouldn't meet again. She thought.

Not long after Sesshoumaru left, Reiko also returned.

"The monsters in the west are retreating." Reiko held a cup of tea and sat under the eaves. She looked at the distant sky and Horii didn't know what she was thinking. "Horii, summer is over. You can go out and practice."

Horii did not know what she had encountered on this trip, so she could only reply, "Yes."

…

Summer passed quickly.

On the day she left, Reiko did not come to see her off.

Horii stood at the foot of the mountain and raised her eyes to look at the small shrine on the mountain. "MaSu, have you noticed?" She said to ShiKi.

After Reiko returned this time, something was wrong.

MaSu also looked in the direction of the mountain peak and whispered, "Lord Reiko hopes that you can grow into a witch on your own as soon as possible."

"I know. Don't you think it's too urgent?" Horii casually turned the juniper fan in her hand.

"Master Reiko once said that she doesn't have much time left. Perhaps this is the reason why she feels so urgent."

"Perhaps."

Horii nodded faintly. She placed her hand on the juniper fan and glanced at the shrine. Then, she walked out of the village.

ShiKi followed behind her and slowly disappeared.

…

"Return to fate! I didn't give birth to it! The void is invisible!" Horii stared at the Yokai in front of her, her two fingers holding the talisman paper in front of her. She shouted coldly, "Follow the orders of the heavens! The evil spirits are destroyed!"

After saying that, the talisman paper turned into a blue flame and rushed towards the Yokai. In the midst of the flames, the Yokai covered in black feathers instantly screamed and turned into ashes.

Horii coldly watched the flames extinguish before turning around and walking towards the village.

After leaving the shrine for a few months, Horii had been wandering everywhere. She had encountered many Yokai, and her strength had improved a lot as a result.

Four days ago, she came to this village and found that the villagers here were always harassed by a monster named "Ci", so she intended to help them get rid of this Yokai.

Now that the Yokai was dead, it was time for her to leave.

When they returned to the village, there were already a few villagers waiting at the entrance of the village. Seeing her figure, they immediately rushed up enthusiastically.

"Lord Horii, these are my family's fruits and vegetables. Would you have rest at my house tonight?"

The other squeezed her away and said, "Lord Holly, you'd better go to my house …"

"Mistress Witch! Please accept our gift!"

"Take mine …"

"Lord Horii …"

Horii felt a headache from the enthusiasm of the villagers. After a moment of silence, she said, "No need, I'm leaving tonight."

"Lord Horii, what should we do if you leave?" Villagers stunned. In the end, they pushed someone out and asked.

"The Yokai is dead, so you don't have to live in fear anymore. As for me, I have to continue traveling, so I can't stay any longer."

After declining the villagers' invitation to stay for a few more days, Horii left the village quietly, just like when she came.

Less than two miles away, she turned around and looked at the forest behind her. The juniper fan circled twice in her hand and suddenly said, "Come out."

No one answered.

The beautiful figure of ShiKi gradually appeared from the side.

"Master."

Originally, Horii gently tapped her palm with a fan. Seeing her full appearance, her movements immediately stopped and she opened the juniper fan to cover her slightly twitching face.

"… I'm not talking about you."

She raised her head doubtfully, only to find that Horii had already put down her fan, stared at the top of a tree, and took out a talisman from her bag.

She narrowed her eyes and her voice suddenly turned cold.

"Do you want to come out by yourself, or … should I force you to come out?"


	12. Chapter 12 Unrestful Love

The forest was silent.   
The autumn wind blew over the trees and a large patch of withered leaves fell.   
Seeing the Yokai was still unwilling to show itself, Holly narrowed her eyes and prepared to attack. Suddenly--   
"Cooing~"   
A fluffy white ball poked its head out from behind a tree.   
Horii was stunned for a moment before turning to look at ShiKi. And the ShiKi also had a puzzled expression on her face.   
This seemed to be different from what she had thought?   
"…" She twitched the corner of her eyes, put down her hand, and tried to make a friendly expression. "Why are you following me?"   
Originally, she had thought that it was a powerful Yokai because of its ability to conceal its aura was so powerful, but in the end, it was actually such a fluffy little monster. Moreover, it seemed that its demonic power was so weak that it was practically negligible. Horii even felt that she could crush it to death with one hand.   
"Cooing …Cooing."   
The little ball jumped up and down, eager to say something.   
"What is it saying?"   
MaSu shook her head, indicating that she did not understand.   
"Hmmm." Horii glanced at the little monster and pulled out a fan that was pinned to her waist. "If you don't understand, then ignore it. Let's go."   
"Yes, Master."   
Turning around to leave, the white ball of fur immediately jumped down from the tree and followed behind Holly. She goes, it goes, she stops, it stops.   
Horii was really annoyed. She didn't want to bring a little follower, especially such a weak follower.   
She walked over and lifted the little fellow up with one hand. "Don't follow me anymore," she said with a sullen face.   
The little Yokai’s size was just matched with her hands. It twisted its body uneasily, and its fluffy touch made Horii feel a little absent-minded for a moment.   
Ah, it seems to be really soft.   
She gently pinched it hard, and the soft-touch reminded her of the tail of the Sesshoumaru.   
It actually felt like the tail of Sesshoumaru.   
Suddenly, she could not bear to hurt the little fellow.   
Horii frowned and handed the wool ball to the ShiKi beside her. He said, "Ask it clear why the little Yokai followed us."   
…   
After a long time, MaSu finally learned the whole story from this little monster named White Mist Pill.   
"Master, it said that the place where it originally lived was occupied by another group of Yokai. It fled here and saw that you are powerful, so it intends to follow you …"   
"Are you sure it's telling the truth?" Horii glanced suspiciously, and White Mist Pill’s eyes immediately blinked.   
"It should be true."   
"Fine, we take you. By the way, what it can do?" Horii did not worry about that such a little Yokai would hurt a human. Although its concealment ability was not bad, its strength was so low that it could be directly killed even if it was captured by humans. It was just that Horii didn't know if it had any other uses, just like the little monsters in the shrine. 

Horii stared at White Mist Pill and thought for a moment before saying, "Warm hands?"   
Horii was silent for a moment, then she held up her fan and pressed it against her forehead, "… That makes sense."   
She picked up the little Yokai, rubbed it with both hands, sighed contentedly, and then said to the ShiKi, "Let's go."   
"Master, where are we going next?" ShiKi landed half a step behind her and asked.   
"Find a place where people lived… Mm, there's a city ahead, isn't there?" Seeing ShiKi nod, Horii immediately decided happily, "Let's go there."   
…   
Before they could reach the city they were talking about, they first met acquaintances.   
After leaving the woods, Horii looked at Sesshoumaru a hundred steps away. She thought to herself, "It’s the fate you never flee from its control. It wasn't long before we met again. "   
This is not the only path to the city. It was clearly because you felt demonic energy that you chose this path, okay?   
ShiKi cursed in her heart, but her face did not show any trace. He silently followed behind Horii.   
Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of the road. In front of him lay the corpse of a monster. Dark red blood flowed all over the ground, faintly emitting smoke. The poisonous whip in Sesshoumaru's hand hadn't been withdrawn yet. Obviously, the murderer who killed that Yokai was him.   
Horii did not know how to start a conversation when she witnessed him like this. She organized her words and said with a smile, "Long time no see, Sesshoumaru."   
Sesshoumaru ignored her.   
He put down her hand and walked over to her expressionlessly.   
Horii felt that she must have hallucinated. When Sesshoumaru passed her, she actually heard a snort in disdain. And this short tone contained emotions such as contempt, ridicule and how could it be her?   
"It's not an auditory hallucination," ShiKi added from the side.   
"So, does that guy really dislike me?" Horii frowned and rubbed the white ball in her hand.   
The little white Yokai looked at her and blinked black grape-like eyes.   
Horii cursed fiercely and even pulled off a hair from the White Mist Pill with excitement, but she didn't dare to speak loudly because of the Sesshoumaru.   
It was the first time she greeted someone so enthusiastically that she was ignored and mocked. She couldn't describe the feeling, but she just felt unhappy.   
Very unhappy.   
Very, very unhappy.   
Even when Mao had played tricks on her in the past, she didn't feel this bad like this.   
Shiki stood at the side and didn't say anything. She tilted head and looked at Sesshoumaru, who had already walked far away. Suddenly, she realized that he had slightly tilted his head when Horii scolded him for being a bastard.   
A thoughtful expression appeared on ShiKi’s face.   
I heard that the Yokai of the canine race usually has excellent auditory sense.


	13. Chapter 13 Unique Pendant

Should I enter a weird city shrouded in demonic energy?   
That's a real problem.   
Horii brought the ShiKi and stood outside the city gate for a moment before deciding to go in.   
She was very tired now and needed to take a hot water bath to forget the displeasure of being ignored by someone. In the vicinity, hot water was only available in the city in front of them.   
Before she could reach the city gate, a streak of light suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of her, turning into a pretty little boy.   
"It's Lord Reiko's ShiKi." After a quick glance, MaSu immediately revealed the identity of the visitor.   
The boy did not say anything else. He walked forward and bowed to Horii, saying, "On Reiko's orders, I have something urgent to ask Horii to return as soon as possible."   
"Something happened to the shrine?" Horii asked.   
Reiko would not let her go back so quickly if she was allowed to travel. Unless something happened at the shrine, she would send a ShiKi to look for her.   
The ShiKi shook his head and remained silent.   
He was originally a type of god used to transmit messages, so he naturally could not answer any questions other than the contents of the message. Seeing that the mission had been completed, a white light flashed and he turned back into a human-shaped talisman paper.   
Horii bent down to pick up the talisman paper and remained silent.   
"Master, are you going back now?" He asked as he stood at the side.   
Horii raised her eyebrows, "Of course. There's something going on at the shrine, I should back"   
"Then what about this city?"   
Horii raised her head and looked at the Chinese character "人见" on the city wall. She muttered, "We'll talk about it after we go back to see Lord Reiko."   
…   
When they returned to the shrine, the noisy little Yokai quietly hide under the eaves. When they saw Horii return, they did not rush up like a swarm of bees.   
Horii was puzzled, but she didn't ask any further. When he stepped into the shrine, he immediately smelled a strong smell of medicinal ingredients mixed with a faint miasma.   
Even though the faint stench of miasma was almost impossible to smell, it still couldn't escape Horii’s nose.   
However, why did miasma is there?   
Moreover, there was also the smell of medicinal ingredients. Could it be that Reiko was injured?   
Thinking of this, Horii quickened her pace and walked into Reiko’s room.   
Reiko was lying in the middle of the room with her eyes closed, her face pale. A faint miasma enveloped her and lingered on.   
Apart from the time when Mao died, it had been a long time since Horii had experienced the feeling of panic.   
Horii could not believe that one day the woman who saved her from the Yokai's mouth and taught her how to become a qualified witch would lie in bed so weak.   
She was clear that powerful! How could it be! How could it …   
Horii held Reiko’s hands, they were no longer as warm as usual instead they carried a faint chill.   
ShiKi followed behind her and stood silently behind Horii.   
"How could this be?" Horii asked blankly.   
She did not know who to ask, nor did she know who could answer her. She had only travelled for a period of time, so why did things become like this?   
Was that a dream? The dream should not be too much true like this?  
"Horii" A weak voice suddenly sounded.   
Reiko’s hand moved gently and turned to hold Horii’s.   
"You're back …"   
Horii lowered her head. Reiko did not know what time she woke up and looked at Horii with her head tilted.   
Horii pursed her lips and said, "I'll help you up."   
Reiko did not refuse and allowed Horii to help her up. As if she knew what Horii was going to ask, she said first, "Horii, are you fifteen years old this year?"   
"Yes, in another two months, it will be sixteen after the summer solstice."   
Strangely enough, she didn't remember many things after being saved by Reiko, but she still remembered that she was born on the summer solstice.   
"Fifteen … not a little girl anymore." Reiko sighed and turned to Horii. "You can see my situation. I can only last for another two to three days."   
"Lord Reiko, you must keep alive …"   
Reiko interrupted her, "I have no choice. This is a decade-old injury. This miasma has been in my body for more than ten years, and I can no longer suppress it."   
"Horii, I know you're reluctant to part with me, but death is the most common thing in this world."   
Horii stopped talking.   
When Reiko called her back this time, what she said was basically the last word.   
"Ever since I was ambushed by that Yokai, I knew that there would be a day like this. That's why I wasn't surprised at all. That's why I used to urge you and Mao to hurry up and become my successors."   
"I’m lucky enough, the wound can be suppressed until now. Actually, it's about time."   
Reiko spoke very slowly, and Horii did not urge her. She listened silently. Something in her eyes was so hot that it blurred her line of sight.   
"Reiko, you are a good child. Ever since I saved you, you have never refused my request."   
"I know that you are not willing to take over the shrine, so I raised Akiko so that even if you leave, there will still be someone to take care of the village."   
"I… I'm not unwilling" Horii wanted to refute, but she couldn't find anything to refute. She really didn't want to stay in a shrine all her life. She wanted to know her origin, but if Reiko spoke, she would definitely not refuse with her life-saving kindness.   
"You don't have to hurry to deny it." Reiko pressed down her hand and said gently, "Horii, you have been suspecting that the appearance of the Western Yokai is related to you for all these years, right?"   
Horii remembered the matter of letting the ShiKi investigate and nodded silently.   
"The timing of your appearance is very coincidental and your identity is unknown. It's really hard not to doubt it." Reiko sighed softly, "So, do what you want to do. The village naturally has someone else to look after, and I don't want to detain you here for the rest of my life."   
"It's just that don't forget to come back when you have time …"   
…   
That day, Reiko forcefully held on and talked to her a lot. Although most of the time, Reiko was the listener and Horii was speaker, it made her feel her warm and kind heart again.   
Two days later, Reiko passed away.   
Without any pain or torture, she closed her eyes, as if it was just a shallow sleep, waking up from her dreams at any moment.   
But no matter how much Horii comforted herself, Reiko would never be able to revive.   
Although she had left, life should be continued.   
Horii sat by the window and played with a pendant.   
The pendant was in the shape of a water drop. It was pale green, and when you looked it carefully at the sunlight, there seemed to be an eye spinning in the depths of the green.   
Reiko said that this was the token she had brought with her when she appeared. To prevent the Western Yokai from coveting it, Reiko sealed the pendant and hid it. She didn't return it to Horii until she died.   
However, Horii didn't see anything after looking at it for a long time.   
She hung the pendant back to her neck, and the cold feeling made her shrink.   
A strange thought suddenly arose in his heart.   
This was not a pendant, but a tear.


	14. Chapter 14 Sesshoumaru’s half-Yokai Brother

Akiko had grown up quite a bit under Reiko's guidance. At the very least, she could be a good witch without Horii's help.   
Horii sat lazily in the corridor, while Akiko, who was still young, sat on the other side wiping the bow and arrow. Watching her movements, Horii couldn't help but smiled.   
White Mist Pill jumped down from the eaves, rolled twice on the ground, and accurately delivered itself to Horii’s hand.   
Horii rubbed this little Yokai who had gained a lot of weight recently, Horii suddenly said, "Akiko."   
Akiko stopped her movements and said, "Lord Horii?"   
When Horii finished the first word, she didn't know how to continue. She had thought of leaving here when Akiko was able to manage the shrine, but she did not know how to tell Akiko.   
She wondered if this was a bit selfish, shifting her responsibility to Akiko.   
However, Akiko seemed to understand what she was thinking. Akiko lowered her head and continued to wipe the bow and arrow in her hand. "Is Lord Horii ready to leave?" She said.   
"… I am considering this."   
Akiko said, “If you're worried about the shrine, I can handle it now! When are you leaving?"   
"… Next month, let's wait until the weather is colder before we set off."   
Akiko nodded and remained silent.   
The little Yokai in the shrine surged up and surrounded Horii, asking in all directions, "Lord Horii, are you really leaving?"   
"Bring us along!"   
"Lord Horii, don't leave! We won't complain about you anymore!"   
"Who can protect us if you leave here …?”   
"…"   
Horii pressed down on her temples in a distressed manner, and the sad emotion that she had brewed diluted a lot.   
"Quiet down." She shouted softly, and the little Yokai immediately quieted down, blinking as they looked at her.   
"I'm just going out for a while. It's not like I'm not coming back." Seeing the happy expressions on the little Yokai's faces, she said, "When I'm not here, you guys have to obey Akiko and take good care of the shrine. Understand?"   
"Are you coming back?"   
"Of course!"   
"Oh," The little monsters nodded, then turned around and dispersed.   
Horii was dumbfounded as she watched the group of little Yokai swaying back to their original positions to bask in the sun. Horii was so angry that her eyes twitched as she took out a fire talisman from her bosom.   
Akiko looked at this and tried to stop Horii.  
"Akiko, don't stop me. I must punish these fellows today!"   
…   
One month later, Horii didn't leave as her plan.   
The back of the mountain at night was very quiet. Any movement of wind and grass seemed to be magnified infinitely.   
Horii quietly opened her eyes in the darkness. She stood up and put on her clothes. She looked at Akiko who was still asleep and walked out of the shrine.   
Horii walked down the hill. Before she could take a few steps, the bushes on the side suddenly trembled a few times and were separated by a pair of fair and delicate hands covered in bloodstains.   
At the same time, the faint smell of blood that Horii had previously smelled became even more intense.   
A beautiful face appeared.   
"Who are you? Why did you come to my shrine late at night?" Horii frowned and paused on the woman's beautiful face for a moment before looking at the swaddling infant in her arms.   
The woman was a human, but the infant she was hugging …   
Horii did not know what was happening to her. From a long time ago, her sense of smell and hearing had become sharper and sharper day by day. Just like before, she had heard footsteps coming up the mountain in her sleep, and now she could smell the demonic aura of a baby in a woman's arms without looking.   
Half-Yokai.   
The child probably belongs to this woman and some other powerful Yokai.   
The woman was somewhat uneasy by her gaze. She lowered her head and whispered, "May I ask if you are Lord Reiko?"   
"I'm not. Lord Reiko has already died."   
'"Ah, how could that be" The woman cried out in surprise. Then, she reacted and introduced herself, "I am so sorry to bother you in the middle of the night. My name is Izayoishiingu. It was Lord Dog General who asked me to see Lord Reiko."  
"You mean the Dog general … well, he's your husband?" Horii thought for a moment and thought that this guess was very reasonable.   
No wonder she felt that she smelled a familiar demonic aura from that half-demon, which made sense.   
Izayoishiingu blushed and nodded.  
Just as Horii was about to say something, her expression suddenly changed and she extended hand.   
Pa--   
A flattened flea slowly drifted down.  
Before it landed, Horii used her two fingers to pinch the flea.   
"Yokai?"   
"Little girl, quickly let go of your grandfather Myouga!" Myouga was pinched in Horii’s hand.  
Horii lowered her eyes. After a moment of silence, she suddenly smiled and flicked Myouga out with her fingers.  
“Lord Myouga …" Izayoishiingu exclaimed.  
"Don't worry, just let him calm down." Horii looked at Izayoishiingu and said, “Izayoishiingu is a princess from a nearby city?"  
When she went out, she heard that there was a city not far away. The City Lord had a beautiful daughter named Izayoishiingu. She must be the daughter.   
"Yes …" Izayoishiingu hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded. "Lord Dog originally sent me to look for Lord Reiko, saying that she is his old friend. Reiko can temporarily protect me and my son … Something unexpected has happened in the city …"   
It didn't seem humane to drive a woman who had just given birth out late at night.   
Horii thought for a moment and allow her to stay in the shrine.   
"Since its General Dog's invitation, you can stay."


	15. Chapter 15 The last Meeting

So what's wrong with these guys? Do they have to come here at midnight?   
Horii complained as she crawled out of the quilt and walked out of the shrine. With the bright moonlight, she could clearly see the appearance of Sesshoumaru who was standing under the tree from afar.   
The long silver hair and purple crescent moon on the forehead. It was still as good-looking as she had first seen him.   
Well, in fact, she knew that there would be such a day from the day she took in Izayoishiingu and her son. The senior son had come to look for them?   
Horii knew about the relationship between Izayoishiingu and the Dog General, so she naturally understood that she could not be the mother of Sesshoumaru. A man, especially a powerful Yokai, how could he have only one wife? Horii didn't want to comment on the Dog General. That was not her business. Right now, what was important was how to deal with Sesshoumaru.  
If he wanted to hurt Izayoishiingu, Horii didn't know if she could stop him.   
Horii seriously thought about this for a moment, and then greeted him with a relaxed expression, "Oh, Sesshoumaru, long time no see."  
"Is that human woman here?" Sesshoumaru obviously didn't want to bother with her and asked straightforwardly and confidently.  
"She is with me." "I know you hate Izayoishiingu because of your father, but since the Dog General's last wish is to ask Reiko to protect her, I can't turn a blind eye to…" Horii grabbed her hair in frustration.   
"Cannot believe that my father died for such a weak human!”   
Sesshoumaru's gaze suddenly pierced through her and looked back. Horii followed his gaze and turned her head. Izayoishiingu stood at the entrance of the shrine and looked at them at some unknown time.  
“Izayoishiingu, why did you come out …"   
At least, please just wait for Sesshoumaru to leave before coming out.  
"Thank you for taking care of me these days." Izayoishiingu thanked Horii gently, "But there are some things I can't rely on you."   
Before Horii could speak, she was interrupted by Sesshoumaru.  
"She is so weak."   
Sesshoumaru sized Izayoishiingu up a few times and came to a conclusion.  
He did not understand why his father would leave his powerful mother to look for a human woman. In his mind, killing those humble and weak creatures was as simple as crushing an ant.   
"No, wait, Sesshoumaru." Horii stood in front of him and said, "You can't do anything to her."  
She could sense the killing intent of Sesshoumaru and knew who it was going to be.  
"Make a way."   
"No, this is my promise to Great General Dog on behalf of Lord Reiko."   
Reiko had saved her life. Now that she had passed away, she would have to repay the favour Reiko had owed to Great General Dog.   
Therefore, Horii had to think of a way to protect Izayoishiingu.   
Sesshoumaru's gaze was almost frozen. Horii was not afraid to stare at him and refused to take a step back.  
"Sesshoumaru, your father is strong and compassionate. That's why he chose to be with the human Izayoishiingu. If you vent your anger on others because of his death, you will never matched with your father."  
"A true warrior is not only powerful in terms of strength, but also in terms of heart."   
Horii didn't know what she was talking about anymore, and her mouth just spoke these words uncontrollably. She could only see the Sesshoumaru's expression getting colder and colder. Her heart trembled, and she still tried her best to open her eyes wide to look at him.  
As for the outcome, it all depended on luck.   
I hope he doesn't go berserk.   
"Finished?"   
Horii nodded without blinking.   
Sesshoumaru sneered and restrained his killing intent. He said confidently and resolutely, "Even without the so-called compassion, I would still surpass my father."  
"I will prove to him that my tyrannical path will eventually lead to my strength."   
Just as he had suddenly come, and after these two words he had suddenly left.   
Horii finally heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the figure of Sesshoumaru disappear into the sky.  
This guy angered humans because his father died at the hands of humans. It would be great if he could just leave and not fight with him.   
But Izayoishiingu was not very well …   
Horii turned around and saw that Izayoishiingu, who was extremely weak due to her injuries and childbirth, had already fainted on the ground under the impact of the demonic power of the Sesshoumaru.  
At this moment, the baby in the room began to cry loudly.   
"It's really troublesome …"   
She sighed and summoned ShiKi to help.   
"In a few days, I'll leave when Izayoishiingu get back. I won't delay any longer." She said to ShiKi.   
"That's what you said last time."   
"No, I'm serious this time." Horii said solemnly, "I've provoked Sesshoumaru. He might come back to revenge whenever he's unhappy."  
"I feel that if Sesshoumaru really comes looking for you, you should be very happy." ShiKi said.  
'"Please, stop…" Horii covered her face in pain.   
…   
Neither Horii nor ShiKi had expected that this meeting would be the last time she met Sesshoumaru.  
For many days to come, she would often think that if she knew that this was the last time meeting, she would chase after him and leave a deep impression on him.   
It was a pity that history could not assume. No one knew that sometimes separation would span two hundred years.


	16. Extra Chapter : Summer And The Memory ( Sesshoumaru’s Pov)

Extra Chapter : Summer And The Memory ( Sesshoumaru’s Pov)

The first time I saw Horii was on the night of the summer.

At that time, she could only be called a young girl. She carefully followed behind another witch. She lowered her eyebrows. She was as weak as an ant.

When he recalled it, Sesshoumaru felt that it was strange. She was obviously weak at that time, so she couldn't let him take a look at her, so why her image in his memory did appear so vivid?

Afterwards, the young girl's figure was slightly taller, and her spiritual power had also increased by a lot. After seeing that he was seriously injured, she did not run away in fear, but even stupidly waved her hand and said that she was just passing by. She even pressed down on him to treat the wounds. In the end, she brought herbs to heal his wounds. Although that kind of thing didn't have much effect on Yokai’s wound …

Sesshoumaru felt that it was probably the first time he had been so forgiving of a human since he had lived for hundreds of years. He hadn't killed that girl yet, despite she was disrespectful to him and called him a bastard behind him. Based on his personality, this was truly inconceivable.

He did not think that this was the so-called kindness. It was probably because it was rare to see such an interesting girl. She had obviously lowered eyebrows in front of him, but her eyes often revealed a crafty expression. Therefore, he subconsciously did not want her to disappear so quickly, let alone human’s life is short.

That's what he always thought.

Ever since she had protected the human woman that night until he left the shrine, he still thought the same.

However, he did not expect that human life would be much shorter than he had imagined.

One summer night after that meeting, when he raised his head and stared at the moon in the sky, the smell of that woman suddenly disappeared from the wind.

It wasn't that the smell dimmed because of the distance, but it was as if an invisible hand had severed that connection.

This kind of situation usually means … that person is dead.

The little green Yokai holding the staff saw him suddenly stop and immediately followed him with its short legs.

"Young Master Sesshoumaru, what happened?"

"It's fine."

He withdrew his gaze and walked forward without looking sideways.

Humans were indeed weak creatures.

He thought.

In his heart, there was a faint trace of disappointment or sadness that gradually dissipated with the night breeze.

From now on, there will never be a witch who is not afraid of death. She obviously feigns embarrassment and pretends to greet him as if nothing has happened. "Oh, Sesshoumaru, long time no see."

No one would scold him secretly when he wasn't far away and think that he couldn't hear that …

She was just a cherry blossom on the road of his long life. Once the season passed, she would wither with the wind. However, he had to walk farther and farther along the path of becoming stronger.

"Evil, follow me." He said.

The little green Yokai trotted after him.

The moonlight in the sky illuminated the path ahead of him. He straightened his waist and walked forward unhurriedly. The moonlight stretched out the tall and short figures of Sesshoumaru and servant, and silence and loneliness interweaved in their shadows.

Perhaps years later, he would remember the summers he had spent.

Perhaps, many years later, he would still remember that she in his memory.

…

…

Time remembers you, I have not forgotten you.


	17. Chapter I  The girl and the well

The chirping sounds of birds surrounded her ears, and the girl looked around at the lush trees in the surroundings. A butterfly flew past her and stopped, just like it observed her curiously. Soon, it flapped its wings and flew away.   
At dusk, Kagome Higurashi sat on the edge of the ancient well, her face full of confusion.   
She remembered that she fell into an ancient well in the ancestral hall in order to save her cat, and then she met that terrifying woman. Now, where was this place?   
She jumped down from the edge of the well and called out tentatively, "Grandfather, mother?"   
There was silence, and only the crisp sound of birds responding to her call. She moved her steps and carefully chose a direction to move forward. The more she left, the more uneasy she became because she discovered that the shrine at home had disappeared.   
Perhaps this place is just far from home, so there are so many trees. She thought to herself and trying to convince herself to ignore the strange scenery around her.   
She reached out and pushed away from the branches. Suddenly, the scenery in front of her changed, and a huge tree towering into the clouds appeared in front of her eyes.   
"Divine Wood!" She ran over excitedly. After crossing many obstacles, she noticed that there was a boy stood on the divine tree.   
His soft silver hair fluttered gently in the breeze, his eyes slightly closed as if he was having a beautiful dream. He was surrounded by vines and firmly bound to trees. The large red robe sleeves swayed gently in the wind, his body bathed in the sunlight just like a sculpture. The two furry ears above his head looked extremely eye-catching.   
Kagome Higurashi crawled up to the top of the tree and reached out to pinch his ear.   
Although the boy was very different from human, the warm touch on her fingertips told her that it was a real ear. Moreover, the boy fell asleep as she had expected because he did not make any movements under her actions.   
That's weird. Strange places, strange people, strange things.   
She sighed in her heart.   
And what happened next far exceeded her imagination. When she was tied up by the villagers and thrown into the middle of the village, she couldn't help but tremble.   
If she had been able to convince herself that she was only in an unknown place, she could not even use this excuse now. Apart from her, the surrounding villagers were all dressed up like the ancients, and they were still talking about whether they were going to fight or not.   
In her uneasy and nervous mood, an old woman dressed as a witch walked in front of her with the villagers. The old woman pinched her chin and looked at her carefully for a few moments before suddenly saying, "Too similar, really similar …"   
"She really looks like sister Kikyo."  
That's what the woman said.   
…   
At the same time, in a remote and quiet valley to the west of Wind Village, the calm lake water suddenly rippled.   
As if something had been broken, the surface of the lake emitted a faint cracking sound. Countless small bubbles surged out from the bottom of the lake and gurgled out of the water.   
This was a lake formed naturally in the valley. Its area was not large, and its water quality was clear, but it could not be seen to the bottom. Usually, many animals came here to drink water, but now, those animals avoided it far away, as if they were afraid of something in the water.   
Not long after, the movement of the water paused.   
The surroundings became even quieter than before. And even the sound of a leaf falling on the grass was infinitely louder.   
Finally, a fair and smooth hand stretched out from the surface of the lake, accompanied by the woman's soft groan, "… Finally, I woke up."


	18. Chapter II  Rebirth

The sky was grey and the sun was still hiding in the clouds. Horii raised her hand to her forehead and looked at the sky. Her beautiful eyebrows frowned slightly. Today was another cloudy day.   
The weather wasn't good and she wasn't in a good mood.   
Not to mention that she had been in a bad mood ever since she climbed out of the lake.   
She raised her hand in front of her. Her fingernails weren't long, and they were perfectly trimmed. However … these were all illusions. Her fingers slightly bent, and her originally short fingernails instantly increased by two inches, giving off a faint cold light, more like ten sharp blades.   
No human being can do such a thing.   
Horii lowered her hand, and the wide witch's sleeve immediately covered her frightening hands.   
What was she now? Not a human, nota Yokai, where should she go?   
Horii lowered her head and walked aimlessly on the empty wasteland.   
The moment she woke up from the lake, she tried to summon her ShiKi, but she did not receive any response. Even the little snowball Yokai that had been following her also disappeared. And for some reason, her spiritual energy had changed. It was no longer pure and clean, but instead emitted a faint Yoaki’s aura. Then she discovered that her fingers could mutate and become as sharp as a knife.   
She thought that she was probably no longer a human now, but she had everything a human should have.   
So what exactly is going on?   
Horii was puzzled.   
She remembered that she was fighting a Yokai leader from the west before she lost consciousness. The Yokai leader, who had originally been defeated by her, suddenly the enemy chose to die together when she was about to launch the final attack. The overwhelming white light assaulted her, causing her eyes to darken and she lost consciousness. It was now that she woke up.   
She began to suspect that the demonic power of the Western Yokai had seeped into her body while she was asleep. However, she felt that her demonic power was different from that of the monster, so this possibility had long been ruled out.   
Horii sighed softly and decided to go back to the village to take a look. She did not know how many years had passed since she had fallen asleep, nor did she know if Akiko and the others were still at the shrine. However, that was the only place that she treated as a home. No matter what happened, she should go back.   
…   
The shrine was in ruins, and there were holes left on the lintel that had been eaten by insects.   
Horii gently stroked the pillar, a trace of confusion appearing in her eyes. She knew that she would not sleep for a short time, but judging from the situation of the shrine, it had been at least a hundred years. Life is too short. A hundred years is enough to make the old friends of those years disappear.   
She knocked on the pillar, and a muffled thud came from inside. The interior had already been eaten clean by the insects. She turned around and was about to leave when a white object suddenly fell from the beam and cried out in pain.   
"Ouch, it hurts so much. Who does disturb my dream?" The little Yokai cursed as it got up from the ground and aggressively lifted its sleeves. Originally, it was sleeping, but in the end, it was stunned awake from its dream by the sound of the pillar, and even fell to the ground. It was really hateful to disturb people's sweet dreams.   
As it thought, its eyes met a familiar face.   
The next moment, the Yokai screamed.   
"You, you, you, you! Lord Horii?!"   
Still as noisy as ever.   
Despite this though, Horii still wore a smile in her eyes. She crouched down and her eyes were on the same level as the little monster.   
"Long time no see, why do you become stuttered?"   
"Are you really Lord Horii?" The little Yokai named Tao Yi's expression became serious.   
"Of course." As soon as he finished speaking, Holly saw the little monster crawling into the shrine.   
"Oh my god --"   
What the hell? What happened?   
Horii stood up blankly and looked around. Suddenly, she realized that the little Yokai was talking about might be … her.   
After Tao Yi's shout, the originally deserted shrine immediately become noisy and small white figures emerged from all parts of the shrine.   
Horii was rather puzzled that the shrine had been destroyed to such a state. Why were they still here? But when the little monsters gathered around her, she was left with nothing but helplessness.   
"Where is there a ghost?"   
"Where?"   
"Move aside, don't squeeze me."   
"Isn't this Lord Horii?"   
"Ah! It really is Lord Horii!"   
"What!"   
"It's Lord Horii!"   
"…"   
After a loud discussion, a weak voice suddenly asked, "Could it be that the ghost is talking about Lord Horii?"   
Hearing this, the little monsters took a step back.   
"That's right. It's been two hundred years. How can a human still be alive?" A little monster said.   
"It's for 197 years." Another little Yokai corrected.   
"Then this Lord Horii is a ghost?"   
"Probably." A little demon nodded.   
Horii raised Tao Yi, who was hiding among the little demons, with a dark face, and helplessly said, "I'm still alive."   
Looking around, she asked, "Aren't you demons? Why are you still afraid of the ghost?"   
"We're just weak little monsters. Of course, we're scared." Tao Yi replied and stretched out his claws to touch Holly's hand. "It’s warm, it seems like she is really alive."   
Well, that's Lord Horii.   
"Lord Horii." Another demon concluded.   
As a result, a group of little demons surrounded Horii again.   
"Lord Horii, we miss you so much."   
"Where did you go?"   
"Lord Horii …"   
"Stop."   
Holly made a pause gesture, looked left and right, and picked a clean piece of land to sit on.   
"Come, tell me what happened after I left here."


End file.
